Council to discuss water issues at Monday meeting

Wright Patman Lake water issues will be in the spotlight at Monday’s meeting of the Texarkana, Texas, City Council.

The council will conduct a public hearing and vote on a resolution that would designate Riverbend Water Resource District as the city’s representative to the Army Corps of Engineers. The resolution names Riverbend CEO Elizabeth Fazio Hale and Texarkana City Liaison Stephen A. Mayo as authorized points of contact for the corps.

Its stated purpose is to “provide … a singular resolution” regarding the ongoing Sulphur River Basin Feasibility Study and any new water reallocated or developed out of the lake. It would clarify to the corps that Riverbend speaks on behalf of Texarkana, City Manager John Whitson said.

Also on the agenda are six first briefings on matters including rezoning, the council’s community relations fund and the Fire Department’s time-swap policy. Further briefings, public hearings and votes on each will follow in coming council meetings.

The council will hear a first briefing on an ordinance that would issue a specific-use permit to a business at 4066 Summerhill Square. The permit would allow a permanent cosmetics service called “microblading,” considered tattooing under city zoning ordinances, to be performed on the property.

Another first briefing is on an ordinance that would rezone 6872 Hampton Road from general retail to commercial to allow an outdoor display of merchandise there.

Jason Vanderhoof, owner of Vanderhoof Landscaping and Blue Canyon Pools, recently relocated to the site and proposes to provide outdoor displays such as a pool, landscaping materials, outdoor kitchens, etc., according to the ordinance’s background information. Three other first briefings will concern resolutions on the council’s community relations fund, a new account from which the city pays to participate in certain activities sponsored by nongovernmental organizations. One says the city manager must get council approval for any expenditure of more than $2,000 from the fund. The other two would authorize spending from the fund: up to $4,000 to support a visit from Kansas City Southern Railroad’s Holiday Express Train and up to $27,000 to pay for a banquet for participants in the Live United Texarkana Bowl football game.

The remaining first briefing is on an ordinance to define how and how often Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department employees may switch shifts and work for each other. The agenda includes an open forum during which the public may address the council on any topic for up to five minutes each.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd.